Alienware Alpha
A simplified lounge-room PC.
Acompact gaming option designed for the living room, the Alienware Alpha comes in a range of specs. While CPUs range from an Intel Core i3 and up, the videocard in all models is a now somewhat behind the times (but overclocked) NVIDIA GForce GTX 860. It is worth noting that, for 720p or 1080p TV gaming on medium to high details, this is enough, but an option for an upgrade would have been nice.
The Alpha tested has the high-end Intel Core i7-4785T — a quad core that hits 3GHz. unless you need the grunt, for gaming, dropping back to the still capable i5 (or even i3) is worth the substantial cash saving. The Alpha also has 8GB of 1,600MHz DDR3 RAM and a 1TB HDD — no SSD option is available.
Rather than a keyboard and mouse, the Alpha ships with an Xbox controller. The system runs Windows 10, but also has the Alienware Hivemind interface, which is a simplified option for launching games or playing media.
Network connectivity on the Alpha is handled by Intel dual-band 802.11ac 2x2 Wi-Fi (plus Bluetooth 4.0) as well as Gigabit LAN. On the front, it has dual USB 2.0 ports, plus two more USB 3.0 connections round back. It also has both HDMI outputs and inputs, plus optical audio.
The Alpha is quite compact (partly thanks to a large external power brick) — measuring in at 203 x 203 x 76mm and weighing 2kg.